Original AVQ&A*: What piece of pop culture will you insist on sharing with your children, and what piece of pop culture was passed down to you from your parents?
SPCHQ A: My parents never had much use for items of popular culture, such as movies, books, and music. The best reason I can discern for this is they were both born during the (first) Great Depression, in 1930 (dad) and 1936 (mom), to poorer families that didn't really have a lot of time for leisure. Sure, they listened to the radio programs and music of the day, read comic books, and went to the movies all day on Saturday when they could, but I don't think they could specifically isolate one book, one song, one movie that they felt was important enough to "pass on" to their kids. I know one of mom's favorite movies is The Best Years of Our Lives, and in one of his early school pictures, dad is wearing a Popeye pin on his tie. Dad still has many record albums (true "albums" - sets of 45rpms in one case) from college, but if you played something for him, he probably wouldn't recognize it. Entertainment wasn't a commodity for them the way it is for me. When you've got a depression, a war, and then a bunch of kids to raise on no money, entertainment wasn't high on the list of priorities. By the time I accidentally came along (late in their lives) and was old enough to discover books, movies, and music on my own, my parents didn't influence or interfere. In other words, I wasn't one of those kids listening to Pink Floyd or The Beatles or even Buddy Holly with my parents. I wasn't technically allowed to see R-rated movies until I was about 14 or so, but they never "banned" me from reading a book or listening to music. This "hands off" approach benefited all parties involved.
What I enjoy instead is turning my parents on to movies, books, and music that they might like. A few years ago I got them a cheap DVD player and Netflix. I've gotten my mom to watch movies that were made in the past 20 years, no small feat. She loved Defending Your Life, Legally Blonde, Mother, Hairspray (the 1987 original), and Walk the Line. I drop older movies that she missed in her queue, like some of the Douglas Sirk films. She has problems with the f-word, so her ratings threshold is PG-13, unless it's something historic (like The Pianist) where use of the f-word is more understandable. I've bought Dad some old WWII movies and Godzilla films, but he seems to prefer watching the History Channel, "Dirty Jobs" on Discovery, and other engineering programs.
Concerning the first part of the original question: while I am totally, completely, 100% childfree, I have opinions about children's culture and entertainment, since it's really hard to avoid.
Ideally, the popular culture I would share with my hypothetical children would be books, movies, music, and television that isn't marketed or labeled as "kid's entertainment", but is kid-appropriate anyway. There's plenty of smart entertainment out there a kid could enjoy that doesn't come with it's own marketing plan. What little girl wouldn't like Roman Holiday? Or Treasure of the Sierra Madre for a boy? Why does crap like the "Kidz Bop" music collections exist, when there are The Beatles and plenty of other musical choices? I would make an exception for Charles M. Schulz's Peanuts, but I'd make sure they started reading the strips from 1950 going forward, and would never subject them (and me) to the lesser (and often awful) animated specials from the 80s, 90s, and beyond.
A specific example of a movie that I'd eagerly share with hypothetical offspring is the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, for a few reasons. First of all, the movie takes time to develop - the kids don't visit the factory until about 50 minutes in, giving time to build the story. What fun would it be if Charlie found a golden ticket in the first five minutes? Second, the original movie - like the novel it was based upon - demonstrates that Actions Have Consequences. If you act like a brat, don't be shocked if you get sucked into a tube of chocolate, get dumped into a gaggle of geese, or are miniaturized. It's a humorous way to demonstrate the importance of taking responsibility for your actions. Too few modern "kid movies" really teach that lesson today.
Edited to Add: Here's a photo of some of my Dad's old 45rpm collection - lots of classical, some show tunes.
Edited to Add II: Feel free to contribute to this post, in either direction: your parents --> you; and you --> kids (hypothetical or not).
* This feature is cribbed from the AV Club AVQ&A, where staffers answer a pop culture related question. Read their their answers to parentally passed on pleasures.
6 comments:
Frank Sinatra coming and going. My dad listened to it all the time (still probably does) and if I had a kid, he'd hear plenty of it. It's a dago thing, I guess: we're culturally hardwired to be proud of the guy who elevated the perception of Italians from off-the-boat working class slobs to (at least in Frank's case) sophisticated artist and cultural phenomenon.
Plus, a male role model that combines swagger and sentimentality in equal measure might help the kid with the ladies, later in life.
Strangely enough, although my parents never really voiced singers they like, they have both said they don't like Frank Sinatra. I suspect they don't like him because of the same reason I don't find him appealing: his swagger and "I'll have this chick in bed by midnight" vibe. I'd rather have the soulful pleading of Otis Redding.
And, you're assuming you're going to have hypothetical boy children... what if they are girls? Would you still pass on Sinatra's music? Or would you instead tell her, "Watch out for any guy who tries to seduce you with Sinatra music"?
My hypothetical kids be exposed the THE MUPPET SHOW and the first Muppet Movie (and maybe the other 2 Henson Muppet movies if they bug me enough) (I don't even have kids and they're already bothering me) They'd also be exposed to plenty of comic books (the only Disney I'd want them to be exposed to would be Carl Bark's Duck comics) at least partly because that's a great way to get them inteterested in reading. I'd actually be more concerned with keeping them away from awful shit like Scooby Doo than pointing them towards the stuff I like.
But I couldn't until they were 12 or so and able to really appreciate the classic years of THE SIMPSONS.
Hey, I'm going to the Schulz museum on Friday, after I leave the Con.
Not sure if I will get to see the archives or not.
Do WB cartoons count, since they weren't actually made for kids back in the day?
Eric: Totally agree with your suggestions for your HypoKids. Another reason I am very glad I don't have kids is that I don't have to put up with their crappy pop culture obsessions (e.g. Hannah Montana, etc.). That was another benefit of my parents being so oblivious to what I was watching/reading.
Mark: CMS Museum is very interesting. They usually display a rotating collection of original strips based on a theme. Also, WB cartoons count - it doesn't matter if the culture was intended for adults/kids, only the passing on.
My childhood experience parallels yours to a great degree - my folks were depression kids too. And while I knew Dad loved jazz - everything from big band to Brubeck - I don't think he EVER played it in the house. Hell, they never even played the radio in the car!
The one concert I remember my parents ever mentioning having been to was Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass @ the old Spectrum sometime in the very early 70s.
[And yeah, dad had a copy of HA & TB's "Whipped Cream & Other Delights" tucked away in his vinyl. Probably hasn't been touched since the last time I ogled it.]
My older sister was more the pop culture innovator - the Beatles (thanks!), disco, reggae (which she ruined for me, so no thanx) and chinese food were all introduced to our household by her.
My stepkids (like most kids these days) are much more savvy, and didn't really need introducing to much. For example, I'm sure my stepson would've eventually gotten into the "Lord of the Rings" flix even if I hadn't taken him to the first one.
But if you see him reading from his "Hitchhikers Guide" collection, or listening to Placebo, you know who to blame ;)
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